California Baptist University 2022

Celebrating Asian culture through festivities, food and fun

C California Baptist University rang in the Year of the Tiger with the annual Lunar New Year event, where the campus came together to celebrate. The night was filled with performances, food, and activities that taught students about Lunar New Year. “The purpose of this event was to connect and engage all of the students campus-wide in a cultural event that means a lot to international students,” says Yesenia Rocha, a senior nursing major and intern for Community Life. Calligraphy name lettering in different languages was one of the many activity booths that Rocha created. Students also could play games such as Mahjong and Chinese chess at the game station. “The name calligraphy was really cool to see how different each language was on paper,” says Grace Barnes, sophomore psychology major. Following all the activities, students were also given an opportunity to immerse themselves in the culture through the food. Amanda Low, junior chemical engineer major, is

a programming intern from the International Center, and she explained, “ To me, the Lunar New Year holiday is kind of like Thanksgiving, it’s a time for people to gather together and have a meal.” At the event, there were potstickers, egg rolls, ramen and boba. “My favorite part had to be the food because it was nice to be exposed to different flavors I had never tried before,” says Marissa Garcia, junior business administration major. The night ended with performances where students sang, played violin and demonstrated martial arts. There was also a school that came to perform the lion and dragon dance for students to enjoy. With the Lunar New Year event, students are exposed to the importance of celebrating different cultures. Simultaneously, international students have a place to feel a little bit more at home. “I think the purpose of this event is to make the people that celebrate the holiday feel at home since they’re so far away from home,” Low says.

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Chinese New Year